Where The Wild Children Roam
by Otaku-TACO
Summary: Sequel mosherocks4's 'DanceWith Me'. Basically just a story I've been working on for over a year. It's also a Modern AU and there are pairings in here. Like, a lot of them. So yeah. Read if you want or don't if you don't wanna but I'd prefer it if you did. Tittle may or may not change.
1. So you're the creepy, evil witch-pervert

**Just wanna point out that this is a sequel to the fabulous story 'Dance With Me' by the even more fabulous mosherock4. Pairings listed later on since I'm lazy.**

* * *

The moment the dance ended, everyone was filing out. Even a certain group of friends. Gray, Natsu, Erza, Jellal, Levy, Lucy, Gajeel and Loke were patiently waiting for the limousine they had rented to return. Natsu had tried to tell them all that he could just walk, even going so far as to tell them that transportation and him didn't get along, but, unfortunately for him, his protests fell on deaf ears. They insisted that Natsu go home with them and, when he brought up his extreme motion sickness, a slightly pale looking Gajeel just slapped him on the back saying that, 'if he had to deal with it, then so does Natsu'. So Natsu, quite reluctantly, conceded and agreed to go, telling them directions to his house from then since he wouldn't be able to the moment he was in a moving vehicle.

When the limo finally arrived about 10 minutes after being called (not bad on the timing huh?) they all filed in; Natsu and Gajeel instantly fighting for the window seats once the car started driving. Levy and Gray both shook their heads or sighed in exasperation at their dates.

Thankfully for the two, mainly Natsu, the ride to the pinkette's 'house' was relatively short. Of course they didn't really stop at his house though. The sleek, black vehicle pulled to a stop at the base of a small hill with a narrow dirt path surrounded by all sorts of foliage, that lead up to what they could make out as a small, cottage-like home.

"This is where you live?" Gajeel asked in disbelief when he noticed their surroundings.

"Yeah…" Natsu said cautiously, quickly recovering from his motion sickness. "Why?"

"So you're the creepy, evil witch-pervert waiting for little children to wander up to your doorstep…" Jellal mused, looking amusedly at Natsu.

Natsu stared at him like he had just asked him if he could see him naked. "I'm the _what_?!" he exclaimed, not even bothering to hide the utter WTF-ness from his voice.

"A theory we came up with when we were younger and much more foolish." Erza explained.

"We came up with it 3 months ago…" Lucy said, sweat-dropping a bit.

"Exactly."

Natsu just shook his head at them. They all seemed to be insane so what was the point? "Whatever," he started, looking back up at them, "Thanks for letting me join your little group for tonight, it was nice…" then he added as an afterthought, "Even if you all seem to be pretty crazy."

Loke chuckled before slinging an arm over Natsu's shoulders. "No problem pinky, you're welcome to join our secret circle anytime! Plus," added, grinning and turning to look over at his best friend, "I have a feeling that we'll be seeing you again much sooner than ya think. Right Gray?"

Said male simply glared at the glasses wearing male, a slight pink tinting his cheeks as he mumbled a quick "Shut up."

"But before you go Natsu," Levy spoke up, gaining everyone's attention, "This was supposed to be a date between you and Gray right?" When he nodded, slight blush on his face at the thought of being on a date with said dark haired male, she went on, "Well, at the end of dates, don't the two people usually kiss?"

When that sunk in, everyone, even the chauffer who was reminiscing about young love, grinned evilly at the two, now very red and stuttering, males.

"O-oi, wait a minute!" Gray exclaimed, "Who says you always have to do that?!"

"Of course you have to Gray!" Loke exclaimed, looking offended for some reason, "It's a tradition! If you don't then you kill the tradition!"

"He's right Gray." Jellal nodded in agreement. "You have to do it."

"Like hell I have to!"

"Oh c'mon Gray!" Lucy pouted, "Don't you want to kiss the cutie." She said, pointing to towards Natsu, who looked like he wanted to run away.

Gray, for his part, attempted to stutter out something that would explain why he wouldn't kiss Natsu. Of _course_ he wanted to kiss Natsu. He wouldn't have asked him to the dance with him if didn't at least want to do that, he just didn't want to kiss the pink haired male under these circumstances.

"Yosh," Erza suddenly said, hitting her fist into her open palm, "You can kiss him anywhere other than his lips instead, as long as it's an appropriate and not already covered in clothing." She gave him a look like she thought that he would try it anyways. Gray felt his eye twitch at that.

"That's not the problem!" Gray was getting fed up now. He opened his mouth to yell them again but he found the words dissolving on the very tip of his tongue when he suddenly felt a pair of warm, soft lips quickly press themselves against his cheeks, and then they were gone. Gray quickly turned his turned his head, wide eyes instantly locking onto a very much blushing Natsu.

"U-um…I'll s-see you all t-tomorrow…" he stammered out before practically bolting from the car and up the hill to his house, leaving Gray still staring after him, eyes still wide and mouth still open a bit.

A 'tsk'-ing sound brought Gray out his stupor. He looked over to see all the males in the vehicle shaking their heads at him.

"That was sad Gray." Loke said as the car started moving again, causing Gajeel to resume his retching.

Jellal nodded in agreement. "If you want to be the seme you have to be more in control Gray."

Gray simply rolled his eyes at them. He wasn't even going to bother comment on the irony in Jellal's statement. It wasn't worth the pain anyways. Though he didn't really have to bring it up since some idiot did it for him.

"Oi, are you sure you have a right to say that considering your relationship?" Gajeel somehow managed while puking out the window.

Gray winced for him when he fell into Levy's lap, unconscious from the blows to the stomach he had just received from both Jellal and Erza. Then he closed his eyes and sighed as a minor argument started amongst his friends…

…Then a blush suddenly took over his cheeks when he thought of a certain 'friend' of his who had just left the car. He then proceeded to growl at Loke when he pointed it out to everyone. _This is gonna be a long ride…_


	2. Wanna go to a cake shop?

Monday morning, bright and early and Gray was on his way to school, Loke by his side blabbering on about what, Gray didn't know nor did he care. He was too tired to care. Loke had kept him up most of the night, ranting about some bullshit, like 'how he had to both assertive and gentle on the first date' or how he was the 'seme' since 'no friend of his was gonna be (and he quotes) the "bitch" of the relationship' and even the multiple ways to get someone in bed with him, 'when we get there of course'. Needless to say, Gray went to bed with an extreme headache and the urge to commit homicide.

It was a surprisingly chilly morning with a strong north wind but it wasn't that surprising if you consider how close it was to winter. Gray barely noticed though, he was tired and the cold never bothered him so how could he? He _did_ notice it blowing his hair into his face, which he brushed away irritably, though. He also noticed the wind blowing his orange hoodie out and around him, revealing his white and blue T-shirt and sliver cross chain that hung around his neck. He also noticed-

"Damn it, it's cold!" Loke yelled, throwing his hands in the air and, unknowingly, hitting Gray's head in the process.

That.

Unfortunately, Gray also noticed that.

Turning his head sharply to his 'best friend' walking beside him, he glared darkly at him before proceeding to yell "Watch it!"

The orange haired male blinked at him in bewilderment, bringing his arms back to his side and, once _again_, hitting Gray in the head while he was at it. "What are you yelling about so early in the morning?"

Gray's eyebrow twitched as he continued to glare at Loke. He probably would've strangled the teen if a familiar voice hadn't snapped him out of his current bloodlust.

"Loke, Gray!"

The two turned to see none other than Lucy, Erza and Jellal walking towards them. Lucy was waving her arm in the air at them and yelling greetings…which Loke quickly reciprocated…

"Princess! How have you been?" he called.

Soon they were all walking together to school; Lucy talking to Loke and Erza while Loke swooned over Lucy and Erza talking with them as well. That left Jellal and Gray.

"So," Jellal started, gaining Gray's attention, "You look awful, what happened?"

Gray shot him a look before responding, jerking his thumb to the flirt close behind him. "Asshole wouldn't shut up last night."

Jellal raised an eyebrow at him before looking ahead, all conversation between the two momentarily halting. That is until, "I didn't know Loke was having a homosexual affair with you."

Gray stumbled; face instantly turning the same color as Erza's hair. He snapped his head to the blunette who was staring at him curiously. "T-that's n-not what I m-meant you perverted b-bastard!" he exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention.

Jellal didn't seem affected as he raised both hands in defense. "I'm just saying, you might wanna tell Lucy man."

"Tell Lucy what?" said blonde asked, glancing between the two with growing wariness despite curiosity.

"N-nothing!" Gray yelled.

"Might wanna tell Natsu too. Don't wanna string him along now do you?"

"Would you shut up already?!"

"What about Natsu?"

They all turned their heads towards the last voice, only to be greeted by the sight of said topic.

Natsu was walking towards them wearing a red T-shirt with some random design on it, long-ish green cargo shorts and plain black converse with his white muffler wrapped firmly around his neck. A black wristband on one arm, green backpack slung over his shoulder and arms swinging casually by his sides.

"Natsu, good to see you again." Erza greeted, smiling warmly at him.

Natsu grinned at her, raising a hand in greeting a stating a simple "Yo." as he came to a stop in front of all of them.

Suddenly Loke threw his arm over Gray's shoulders and said, quite loudly, "Ne, Gray, isn't this the part where you kiss and hug your boyfriend hello? We went over this last night."

Natsu blinked, blush creeping over his cheeks as he stared at the two. The others stared as well as Gray simply glared darkly at the smirking teen. "I'll kill you ya know." He stated.

Loke simply grinned at him.

Huffing, Gray grabbed Loke's face and pushed him away from him before turning and smiling at Natsu. "Hey."

Natsu smiled back, the slightest pink still staining his cheeks. "Hi."

Before anything else could be said, Loke stage whispered to Gray. "Now wrap your arms around him while leaning in slowly to-"

He cut off when Gray spun around on his heel to face him, a look that could kill on his features.

Lucy tutted at her boyfriend before shooting Gray and the once again blushing pinkette an apologetic look. Then she turned back to her snickering man. "Loke, stop torturing Gray."

Said male pouted at her. "But darling," he complained, "If I don't step in and help he'll end up blowing it by being too cold!"

Gray's glare intensified at that.

Then Erza stepped in.

She placed a hand on Loke's shoulder, her face one of determination. "Loke," she started, eyes closed, "I understand you wish to assist Gray, but you need to take one step at a time. Tomorrow when I come over I will help you train him in the first step. Until then," she opened her eyes and patted him on the back, "Try to work at his pace."

With that she turned and continued walking to school, leaving Gray, Lucy and Natsu to stare at her in disbelief. Jellal chuckled at his girlfriend's antics before following after her, patting Gray sympathetically on the back as he passed him. Loke soon followed after them, yelling at Erza about how Gray's pace was the same pace as evolution; slow and tedious.

Gray continued to stare after them, mouth agape and eyes wide in terror and shock. Somewhere beside he heard Lucy sigh as she continued after the others, grumbling something incoherent. Gray only really snapped out of his shocked state when he heard someone clear their throat. He turned to see Natsu now beside, cheeks pink and eyes looking everywhere but Gray.

"You going to stand there all day or are you coming?" he asked.

Gray closed his mouth, cheeks also tinting, before nodding slowly. He and Natsu slowly made their way to school, the silence between them thick as they looked everywhere but each other.

"Um…"Gray started, trying to find the right thing to say as Natsu's eyes landed on him. "S-sorry about my friends…"

Natsu smiled. "It's ok. They're kinda cool!"

Gray snorted. "They have their moments but I wouldn't go that far."

Natsu just rolled his eyes. The silence was comfortable this time. The school was in closer view now. Gray could see his friends waiting for them. He was about to speed up when Natsu tugged on his sleeve. He looked over at the other curiously. "What is it?"

Natsu cleared his throat a bit before speaking up. "Uh, well…I was just wondering if you-and everyone else I guess…wanted to come with me to this cool cake shop after school…"

Gray blinked at him. He could feel the blush creeping across his face at the sudden offer. "Um…" he started, glancing over at the still waiting others before looking back at the nervous pinkette; absentmindedly recognizing that he was kind of cute when he was nervous, "Sure."

Natsu looked over at him as if he hadn't heard right. "Really?" Gray could hear the excitement building in his voice.

Gray smiled warmly at him. "Why not?" he asked playfully. "Besides," he added, "Erza has a mega sweet tooth."

Natsu grinned brightly. "Great!" he said, letting go of Gray's sleeve. "I have to get to class so I'll see you all later then okay?"

Gray only had time to nod before Natsu ran off excitedly. Gray just shook his, smile still on his face. And when the others demanded to know what Gray had done to make Natsu run off _already_, Gray just shook his head and asked them,

"Wanna go to a cake shop after school?"


	3. I want you to meet my new friends!

When Gray had out of nowhere offered them all a trip to cake shop, they were admittedly suspicious. Gray had just rolled his eyes at the wary glances before explaining to them he it was _Natsu's_ offer and not his. Even going so far as to add that he wouldn't invite them if he really _had_ found a little cake shop paradise.

Loke, of course, protested the moment he heard that Natsu had invited them. Saying things like how it most likely just an add on that they could come too and how it should just be the two of them on romantic trip to a cake shop. Yeah… crap like that. Erza, always being one to kill for Strawberry cake, shut him up quickly with a hit to the back of his head. She then declared that they would _all_ be going and that Natsu and Gray could have their romantic trip to wherever _after_ Gray asked Natsu onto a real date.

Needless to say, that last part left Loke complaining again and Gray face-palming. Most of the times… he really wonders about his friends.

The rest of the day passed as a usual Monday. Classes, boring teachers, etc. Gray didn't have Gym that day so he guessed that he wasn't going to be seeing Natsu until later. Though later seemed to refer to after school since Natsu wasn't anywhere to be seen during lunch. Although, he _was_ informed by Jellal, who had had English with him earlier, that Natsu said he might miss lunch today. The frown that appeared on Gray's face after hearing that was, apparently, tease worthy.

When the final bell finally rung they all re-grouped and waited by the front gate for Natsu. They had waited a good 20 minutes before he finally came running out of the school doors, literally skidding to stop before he accidentally crashed into someone.

He was bent over panting in front of them trying to catch his breath but he somehow managed to get out a few words. "H-hi…*pant, pant*…Thanks f-for…waiting *deep breath*…"

Gajeel, being, well, _Gajeel_, decided to poke Natsu with his finger a few times before asking, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Natsu managed, finally getting his breath back, "Ran all the way from the Art room to here but yeah…I'm fine…"

They all raised an eyebrow at him. The school had a huge campus with a main building where regular classes are held, 3 broken off wings for Science, Art and Staff purposes, a Gymnasium, and a pool. The Art wing was at the very back of the campus. What was Natsu doing there?

"Mr. Reedus wanted me to help him with something." Natsu said, answering the unspoken question.

They all 'oh'-ed and nodded in understanding before starting their trek to the mysterious cake shop; Natsu leading the way.

"So," Levy spoke up, gaining their attention, "What's the name of this cake shop?"

Natsu looked back at her over his shoulder, arms crossed behind his head and grinning, "Fairy Tail!"

"Odd name…"

Loke was quickly elbowed for his input.

Natsu didn't seem to mind though when he shrugged. "Maybe," he agreed, "But it is a really awesome café! Plus," he added, "I'm really great friends with the owner so she doesn't charge me as much! She calls it the 'Basically Family Discount'!"

A few of them raised an eyebrow at the name but before they could comment, Natsu exclaimed "We're here!"

It was a relatively average 2 story building with lavender walls that looked freshly painted, glass doors and windows, a few flowery plants here and there and a huge sign at the top of the building that said '_Fairy Tail Café_ ' in calligraphy.

The inside had a homey feel to it with orange-y/cream walls and black tiled flooring. Tables and booths were in random yet convenient locations all around the room, and to the back was a small glass counter with a few display cakes, cookies and pastries in and on top of it. Behind the counter was a girl that looked to be around their age with short white hair and light blue eyes. When she saw them, or more specifically Natsu, come in, she smiled brightly and waved.

"Natsu!" she exclaimed, "It's so good to see you so soon!"

"Hey Lisanna!" Natsu responded, waving back at her. "Where's everyone else?" he asked looking around and walking over to her, leaving everyone else just standing by the door and observing curiously.

"Mira-nee is in the kitchen baking a cake, Elf-nii-chan is cleaning the bathrooms and as for the others…" she put her finger to her chin in thought for a moment before looking back over at Natsu. "They're not here yet."

Natsu pouted a little before nodding his head and turning back to the group at the door, waving them over to the two at the counter. "Oi! Everyone, come meet Lisanna!"

When they came over, Natsu pointed out everyone while calling out their name before introducing Lisanna to everyone as the little sister of the owner.

"So," Lisanna started, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "This is the boyfriend Natsu? Gray, am I correct?"

"Yup." Everyone but Gray and Natsu chorused.

Both Gray and Natsu, each now a lovely light pink, proceeded to attempt to stutter out a few words. What the words were, they didn't even know.

"It's not like that!" they both eventually yelled.

"Oh?" Lisanna questioned, shooting them a completely (fake) innocent and curious look. "But Natsu," she said, "Didn't you come over Saturday telling us all about your date to the dance and how much you loved him?"

"I NEVER SAID THAT!"

"Are you sure?"

Natsu, now redder than Erza's hair, opened his mouth- no doubt to yell more-, but, before he could utter a word, a yell came from someone else.

"Oi! Who's out here making so much noise?!"

They all turned to see a big, burly, dark skinned man with onyx eyes and spiky looking white hair. He had a scar under his right eye, running from the base of his eye to right under his ear. What really struck them, however, was the fact that he was naked. Or at least, he was _mostly_ naked.

"Natsu! I knew it had to be you out here making so much noise! Real men would never do that!" the man shouted, pointing at Natsu and making a bunch of noise himself.

"Shut up Elfman!" Natsu yelled back, "Your sister's being evil and you're making more noise than me!"

"Men don't put the blame on women!"

"Shut up and put on some clothes you damn pervert!"

"Geez, what's with all the god damn noise?!" someone suddenly yelled.

They turned to see an irritated looking blonde walking in with and 3 other people.

The blonde was of average height with wild, spiky looking hair that overlapped onto the left side of his face a bit and almost covered one of his blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie over a tight fitting white t-shirt, black skinny jeans and red converse. His hands were in his hood pockets and he was shooting them all an annoyed look. He also had a scar running through the end of his right eyebrow closer to his forehead and an earring hanging from his left ear.

One of the other people that came in with was- for lack of better term- an emo. Or at least he _looked_ like one. He had messy, long-ish black hair that stuck up a bit on the top but still fell into his face and completely covered his right eye. He was wearing a red hoodie over a grey graphic T-shirt with black jeans and red converse. His one visible red eye looked over at them in disinterest.

There was another blonde guy who was, for some reason, wearing a red mask with a golden trim at the ends. He had straight and long blonde hair that reached below his back and dark green eyes. He was wearing a red button up, short sleeve shirt with a golden tie, blue jeans and red converse.

The last guy was a big guy that seemed to have a bigger build than the other guy that was now deemed as Elfman. He had tanned skin and long, spiky looking green hair that was held out of his face by a black headband. He was wearing a brown sweatshirt with torn grey jeans and red converse. He also had a few tribal tattoos on his face.

"Hey guys!" Natsu exclaimed. "I want you to meet my new friends!"

"New friends?" The big guy and spiky haired blonde both questioned.

"I remember there being some mentioning of new friends," The mask guy mused a bit.

"Natsu!" Elfman continued to yell, "Don't ignore me! That's not manly!"

"Would you shut up already?!"

"My, My," a new voice said calmly, "It's always so lively here."

They all turned to see an average height, pale woman with long white hair. Her bangs were held up and out of her face by a clip and she was wearing a pink, frilly-ish dress. She was also very pretty.

"Ah," Lisanna started, "Mira-nee, Natsu brought some friends with him."

"Oh?" She asked curiously, gazing over at the unfamiliar faces in her café. "Well it's nice to meet all of you." She smiled warmly at them before turning to Elfman with a stern expression, "Elfman," her tone was one a parent might use on a disobedient child, "You're going to scare people, go put on your clothes."

Elfman pouted and visibly slumped forward a bit. "Yes Mira-nee." Before he turned, Gray and the others noticed how everyone automatically turned their heads away from him. They didn't have time to think about it, however, since Elfman turned around and started walking away.

See, Elfman was wearing a lengthy cloth that covered his front nether regions but, at the back, there was just a thin thread thing that only really covered his crack. However, with him bending forward a bit, you could almost distinctly see his-

"**AH! MY **_**EYES**_**!"**

* * *

Once everything had settled down- and Elfman put on _actual_ clothing- everyone had introduced themselves. They already got who and who was Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna, but, they also learnt that the irritated blonde was Sting (irritated because of some stuff that happened in his final class), the emo was Rogue ("I'm not an emo, I just simply have no interest in this."), the mask guy was Rufus ("What's with the mask?" "That is none of your concern.") and the big guy was Orga ("A mullet? Really?")

They all went to the same school, as Rufus stated, but never paid each other much mind. Although, Gajeel stated that he used to help Rogue with kendo and Erza stated that Rufus was the secretary for the student council; the two mentioned confirmed this.

They all talked and got to know each other, mainly Gray and everyone asking question. They learnt that Lisanna, despite being around their age, was homeschooled.

"Oh," she added, "But Mira-nee said that by next school year, I might be enrolled! Isn't that great?"

They also learnt that Rogue was the captain of the kendo team, Sting was a pervert, Elfman had an obsession with the word 'Man', Orga was blunt as fuck and Mirajane and Lisanna were evil as hell.

"I hope you and your boyfriend haven't done anything inappropriate yet Natsu."

"Would you shut up already?!"

"Natsu, it's not manly to yell at women!"

"Geez you're extra loud and annoying today."

"Hn."

"I should probably have the talk with you soon if you're going to be doing those things Natsu."

"AAAAHHHHH!"

They also learnt that Rufus had no sense of humor.

"So your name is Rufus?"

"Yes."

"Like the naked mole rat from Kim Possible?"

"Your attempts at humor are feeble and no, I have no relation to any hairless rodent, animated or realistic."

The regulars and owners of Fairy Tail Café also learned a few things about their new customers. Like how violent Erza was, or how annoying Loke could be, or how tsundere Gajeel is, and that Lucy could be a force rivaling Erza sometimes.

"You know you're voice is kind of annoying."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

They also found out that Levy was a geek, Gray had fearsome glares and Jellal was basically the only thing keeping them all sane while at the same time driving them up the wall.

"Loke calm down, Gray will learn how to handle his own love life eventually."

"What's that sup-"

"But by that time he won't _have_ love life! Look at him, he's going to die alone!"

"Loke-"

"Erza's helping remember?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Exactly, so just let him be clueless and desperate for now."

"So help me god, I _will_ kill you two one day."

They all went on talking and basically harassing each other, occasionally eating a few surprisingly delicious treats, until someone brought up another topic.

"By the way Natsu-san," Sting suddenly asked, "Didn't you have work today?"

"Oh well," he started explaining, "Macao had important business or something and said he was going to gone for a while and since he didn't trust any of us to run the place without him there, I'm off work till he's back!"

"Cool."

And the conversation went on until Mirajane declared that they should all be getting home. Everyone bid goodnights to each other as they turned to walk to their own homes, some walking with companions, others not so much. Natsu, Loke and Gray ended up walking with each other before coming to a fork in the road where they would have to part.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Natsu said, waving to the other two males before turning and starting back up his trek home.

"Later!" Loke called, turning to do the same before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Gray looking in a random direction, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. "Loke," he started, "You go on ahead, I'm gonna walk with Natsu for a bit."

Loke blinked for a moment before grinning mischievously at his best friend. "There may just be hope for you yet." He said before chuckling at the glare directed at him. "Go ahead but be home before 12 and nothing inappropriate before the first date okay?"

Huffing a bit, Gray turned and marched after Natsu, leaving the glasses- wearing male grinning in the middle of the street.

"Hey Natsu!"

Hearing a voice calling his name, Natsu stopped and turned to see Gray coming up to him. Before he could ask, Gray spoke up, "Mind me walking you home?"

Natsu blinked before looking up into a slightly pink face. "Uh…Sure."

They started walking again after that, the awkward silence around them thick as they eventually started walking up the hill towards Natsu' house. When they got there, Gray couldn't help it when he stopped and stared because, honestly, _this_was Natsu's house?

The home itself was a little cottage-like building that looked like a mix between cobblestone and colonial with a tree growing out of the building. The place was surrounded by lush greenery on all sides a few creeper plants hooked onto the walls. A little mail box stood a bit away from the building with a sign shaped like a cat attached to it that read '_Natsu & Happy_'. In the back of his mind, Gray wondered who Happy was but he was too busy gawking at the house. It looked so much like something out of a fairytale that Gray briefly wondered if his friends' theory about pedophilic witches and wizards wasn't _completely_ bogus.

"What's wrong?" Natsu suddenly asked. He been watching Gray gawk at his house for a total of 3 minutes and he was starting to get a bit nervous. "You don't like it or something?"

That snapped Gray out of his trance. He glanced between Natsu and his home a few times before his gaze settled on the pinkette. "Oh, ah…" he stuttered rubbing the back his neck awkwardly, "It's not that."

"What is it then?" Natsu pressed

"Well," Gray said, unsure of how to say this but… "It's just so…_You_."

Natsu blinked a few times in confusion. "Um," he said, "Is that a good thing?"

Gray just shrugged, suddenly feeling anxious. He honestly wasn't sure about how much of a good idea it was to walk with Natsu anymore.

None the less, Natsu still accepted Gray's somewhat response before walking up to his front door and unlocking it. He waved the dark haired male in when he opened the door. Gray quickly scuttled in after him when Natsu. The moment the light was turned on, a blue blur slammed into Natsu, toppling him over before either could react.

"Natsu!" the blue creature cried, "I was so lonely! Never leave again!"

Rolling his eyes at the overdramatic voice emitting itself from the cat on his chest, Natsu sat up. "It's okay Happy, I'm here now; you don't have to worry."

"B-but-"

"But nothing." Natsu stated firmly, "Now stop crying, we have a guest."

"Huh?"

The blue cat deemed Happy looked up to Gray who was watching the entire exchange with a look of utter speechlessness. In all honesty, Gray had no idea on how to respond to the _talking blue cat_. He briefly wondered if he was suddenly hallucinating but when the image of the sign outside flashed to the front of his mind, he figure he probably wasn't.

Gray was snapped out of his thoughts as Happy started tugging on his black jeans. "Who are you? Why are you here? How do you know Natsu? Do you have any fish?" He asked.

Gray blinked before crouching down so he could get a better look at the cat before responding, "My name's Gray and I'm here to just hang out with Natsu a bit. I know him from…well it's long story and sorry, I don't have any fish."

Happy stared at him for a moment before suddenly clamping his paws over his mouth in an attempt to suppress his snickering as a mischievous grin spread across his face. "S-so you're G-fufufu- Gray?"

"Um, yeah?" Gray answered, suddenly a bit unsure of this situation.

Gray's response must have been the last straw as Happy collapsed on the ground in laughing fits. Gray looked over at the now standing Natsu only to be farther confused at the red tint of his face. "Um," he asked, "What exactly am I missing here?"

"Natsu llllllllikes you!" Happy managed to screech out between guffaws, rolling his tongue for emphasis.

"S-shut up Happy!" Natsu yelled back, face quite flushed. "Lisanna and Mira already beat ya to it so shut up!"

When Happy finally calmed down he just grinned a very cat like grin (that was supposed to be funny…Laugh at my bad joke, laugh I say!) at Natsu before running off and yelling at Gray to bring fish next time.

Standing up, Gray decided to ignore whatever the hell just happened and look around. The inside of Natsu's home gave off a nice and comforting feel while at the same time, made it seem like a mix between a teenager's hide-out and a kid's playground. The walls were a light brown colour with professionally stained wooden floor boards and various photos hanging from the walls. The tree Gray saw growing out of the house earlier was against the far wall decorated with various twinkle lights and a hammock was tied to it in the space between the wall and tree trunk. Looking into the living room that was directly connected to the small threshold of the house, Gray saw a large black sofa set against a short, grey-tiled wall built in the middle of the room. There was a large blue rug set on the ground between the large TV and the couch with a small brown coffee table resting on it. In the corner was a small stereo beside a fairly packed bookshelf.

Gray let out a low whistle. "So this is the dragon's den huh?" he asked.

Natsu turned to him with a funny look on his face, the corner of his mouth quirked up a bit. "Dragon's den?" The dry amusement in his tone quite clear.

Gray lazily rolled one shoulder. "You're last name is Dragneel right?"

Natsu nodded. "So?"

"So? Dragneel, Dragon. Isn't it obvious?"

"Apparently not."

"Well then you're stupid."

"What?! You're the stupid one! Who would make such a ridiculous connection?"

"You're obviously the stupid one for not even being able to make out the word 'Dragon' in your own last name! And anyone would make the connection!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"You sound like a 5 year old!"

"No, you sound like a 5 year old!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

By now they were both in each other's faces with very annoyed expressions on. They stared at each other for a long while, neither saying anything. Dark blue locked onto mossy green. Then it happened. 'It' being a little slip up from Gray when he got too caught up in just _staring_ at Natsu and stopped focusing on his bubbling annoyance at him.

"You look really cute when you're annoyed."

It took all of 5 seconds for them both to register what was just said, and when they did, both became very embarrassed and very _very_ red. Natsu also being a bit flustered. Gray began trying to sputter out an excuse for his little 'comment' while Natsu just focused on getting his colour under control. After a few moments of…_that_, they both noticed the hysterical laughter in the background. Turning, they both saw Happy perched atop the short wall, rolling around and laughing himself breathless.

"Y-you t-two," he managed between the laughs, "Are HILARIOUS!" and then he broke out into another laughing fit.

Natsu glowered at the blue cat before letting a (comical) war cry and pouncing at him, earning a confused shriek from the unsuspecting victim. Gray watched the little tussle for all of two seconds before plopping onto the couch, his pink coloured face falling into his hands and a deep sigh escaping his lips. He stayed like that until he felt a dip in the couch next to him. Looking up, he saw a pink faced Natsu looking in the other direction. "So, um," he said, eyes darting every which where, "You think I'm cute?"

Gray cleared his throat awkwardly, definitely regretting his idea of coming over to Natsu's now, "Well, uh, yes?"

Natsu pouted at him. "Guys aren't supposed to be cute."

Gray shrugged. "Well you are." He said. Before Natsu could say anything else, he elaborated. "Your eyebrows knit together and you scrunch up your face into a pout kinda like the one you're giving me now except not as cute and you get this fire in your eyes and you just look so…adorable." Then Gray suddenly felt a smirk tug at his lips as he stated, "I might rile you up a bit more often to see that look."

Natsu's cheeks were a lovely red now as he huffed, pout still present. "Guys still aren't supposed to be cute."

Gray just shrugged again, maybe coming over wasn't _that_ terrible anymore.

* * *

**Hey, I just wanted to thank all those of you favourited and followed and reviewed; I just want to hug you all. Most specifically _darkhuntressxir _for being the first to review and _gratsulover117 _for all your kind words and everyone else. I love you guys. Anyways, here's the ages of everyone (cannon stuff aside). The pairings will be listed out later.**

**Natsu Dragneel- 17 (more or less)**

**Gray Fullbuster- 18**

**Lucy Heartfillia- 17**

**Loke Celestica- 17-18**

**Erza Scarlet- 18**

**Jellal Fernandes- 19**

**Gajeel Redfox- 18**

**Levy McGarden- 16-17**

**Lisanna Strauss- 17**

**Mirajane Strauss- 21**

**Elfman Strauss- 20**

**Rogue Cheney- 17**

**Sting Eucliffe- 18**

**Rufus Lohr- 18**

**Orga Nanagear- 19**


	4. He's my dad

After that first visit to Fairy Tail, it became a routine for Gray and the others to head there every day afterschool- when they could. And when Mira decided it was time to run all of them, Gray, Loke and Natsu would walk until they reached that fork in the rod and then Gray would walk Natsu to his home where they spent a couple of hours just hanging out. (The everyday visits to Natsu's home also helped to cut out some of Gray's training (torture) with Erza, Loke, Jellal and Lucy.) It had been going on for a bit over 3 weeks before something changed.

It wasn't really a major thing though. Or maybe it was. Gray couldn't really tell.

They were just sitting at the café one Thursday when Natsu suddenly turned to Mirajane. "Hey Mira?" he had asked, "Can you let me work here?"

"Hmm?" she blinked (along with everyone else). She wasn't necessarily surprised or shocked so much as just curious about the sudden question."Why are you asking Natsu? What about your job at 'Sauces'?"

Natsu shook his head. "Macao still isn't back yet and end of month bills are coming up soon." he stated. "So can I?"

Mira stared at him for a moment or two before smiling tenderly. "Well," she hummed, "We are in need of a little extra help and you _are_ already pretty experienced in restaurant employment so, okay! You can start on Monday."

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Got it; thanks Mira, I owe you one." She just waved him off.

And that was it. The subject (aside from Lisanna squealing about how fun it was going to be working with Natsu) was completely dropped. No one questioned why Natsu was worrying about bills and no one even asked what happened to his parents in this situation. Gray saw some of his friends shooting Natsu funny looks every now and again though. But that was it. Why didn't anyone question him? Why not even the slightest inquiry? Everyone else was dropping it, why? Gray just simply decided to just drop it too.

For now.

* * *

Gray and Natsu were sitting in his room at Natsu's listening to whatever songs were playing from the stereo in his room. The mixed CD wasn't half bad since the songs on it were relatively good with the occasional great in them. When Gray asked who made it, Natsu just shrugged and said that he couldn't remember. Anyways, they were just lying there in comfortable silence listening to _Demons_ by Imagine Dragons when Gray decided to bring back up his question.

"So," he said, gaining the pinkette's attention, "Why are _you_ the one fretting about bills?"

Natsu stared at him for a bit longer before returning his gaze to the ceiling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Gray sat up from his perch on the floor to look at Natsu who was spread out on his brown covered bed. "Natsu, I'm serious."

"So am I." was the response.

The dark haired male sighed, running a hand through his messy hair as he did so. Maybe a different approach? "I've been coming over for almost a month now." he stated.

"And?"

"And," he continued, "I've never once seen even a trace of any parent or guardian." Natsu didn't say anything. "I mean, I've seen the pictures with you as a kid and that guy there but I've never seen him around and you never bring him up so…" Natsu still remained silent. Gray sighed. "Now that I think about it," he went on, "The pictures with both you and that guy in there stop at a certain point and after that it's just you and everyone else. I would figure the guy's your dad but I don't even see anything to indicate a mom or-"

"Gray," Natsu cut in, "Can I trust you?" His eyes were still locked onto the ceiling.

Said male blinked at the sudden intrusion but, none the less, nodded before responding "Of course you can."

When Natsu didn't say anything for a while, Gray thought he wasn't going to speak so he opened his mouth to say something. Before could though, Natsu said, "Igneel."

Gray blinked again, confused. "What?"

The pinkette sighed, shifting himself on the mattress before patting the space beside him that he just cleared. Wordlessly, Gray got up before crawling onto the bed, sitting cross-legged beside Natsu's head. Looking down, the older of the two saw the pinkette staring up at him. They stared at each other a bit longer before Natsu looked in a different direction. The song had changed to _Angel with a Shotgun_ by The Cab by now.

Gray cleared his throat, eyes also darting somewhere else. "So," he said, "Igneel is?"

"He's my dad." Was the response.

Gray nodded. He figured as much but still wasn't sure until now. "What about your mom?"

Natsu shook his head. "I never had one." He said.

Gray's eyebrows furrowed together. Had she died when Natsu was young? Gray decided to test his luck. "Then how…" he let the unfinished sentence hang in the air before Natsu sighed.

"When I was really young," he started, "Igneel found me in a basket somewhere in the woods around here." he waved his hand to the closed window that gave a good view of the forest for emphasis, "He had just moved in here when he heard crying. He walked around outside for a bit and, low and behold, he found me. He said I must've been about 7 months at the time." He added as an afterthought.

"Wait," Gray cut in, "So you don't even really know how old you are?"

Natsu didn't answer as he continued on his tale. "Igneel took me in and raised me like I was his own but he wasn't married so I never had a mom. It was just me and him. I didn't get Happy until…" his voice trailed off as glazed over moss green eyes stared at the ceiling.

"Until what?" Gray persisted.

Natsu was quiet for a while again before speaking. "Until after he disappeared." He finally said.


	5. When are you coming back?

**I love you all- I really do. Also, NOTE for the previous chapter: I'm not sure if you all got confused but, when I typed,**

_**Natsu didn't answer as he continued on his tale. "Igneel took me in and raised me like I was his own but he wasn't married so I never had a mom. It was just me and him. I didn't get Happy until…" his voice trailed off as glazed over moss green eyes stared at the ceiling.**_

**It means that Natsu didn't get Happy, THE FLYING (well, not in this story) BLUE CAT, until Igneel disappeared.**

**Also, the songs written down don't really have any 'metaphorical representation' or whatever. They're just songs I like and wormed in; feel free to listen to 'em though.**

* * *

Gray stared at Natsu for a long while, still trying to process the information. _Angle with a Shotgun_ had long since ended and they were already more than halfway through All-American Rejects' _Walk Over Me_ when Gray finally found his voice. "What?" was his brilliant reply.

Natsu glanced at him before sighing, closing his eyes has he did so. "Yeah," he said, "He disappeared…Or went missing. Whichever terminology you prefer I guess."

The tunes of _All These Things That I've Done_ by the Killers started to echo around the room as the two males continued to just lying there in semi-silence. They would've stayed completely silent through the entire song if Gray hadn't cleared his throat. "So," he started awkwardly, "Do you, uh, ya know, want to…tell me? I mean, you don't have to if you're uncomfortable, but, um-"

"You're cute when you're nervous." Gray instantly snapped his head in Natsu's direction only to see the pinkette looking at him with half open eyes.

After a moment or two, Gray smirked down at him, all traces of previous nervousness gone. "I thought guys weren't supposed to be cute." He said. Natsu simply shrugged one shoulder, a smile tugging at his lips and a light pink dusting his cheeks. "Consider yourself special then."

Gray chuckled lightly at the response before shifting around a bit so that he was lying on his back beside Natsu. A silence descended onto them as the slightly upbeat tunes of _Killer Life_ by Morningwood started filtering through the speakers. Gray, despite his initial curiosity, was just content to lie there with Natsu. Loke and the others were finally starting to cool it with the constant teasing and Gray was glad for it. He didn't mind the concept of having a romantic relationship with the pinkette but whenever he tried to work up the nerve to ask him out, something always ended up psyching him out. Whether it was all the other people usually around at the time or just the setting, Gray always ended up losing his nerve. What seemed to always get him the most, however, was that it never seemed to be the right time or moment.

"_You need to make the moment- don't wait for it._" Loke had told him.

'_Yeah,_' he thought, '_Easier said than done._'

Maybe he was just a classic romantic but he wanted everything to be perfect when he finally asked him. He knew that he was making it seem like something as big as marriage but, honestly, he didn't care. Natsu just seemed like the type of guy worth getting everything perfect for-and from what Gray had seen so far, he was.

Gray was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Natsu shift beside him until the pinkette's head rested lightly on his shoulder. "Do you still wanna know?" he murmured.

The older of the two breathed out a sigh. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna ya know."

"I know." Was all he said.

Gray let out another sigh before leaning his head on Natsu's a bit. "I'm all ears."

* * *

Apparently, Natsu's dad, Igneel, was a pretty wealthy man way up there in the trading business. He frequently went on business trips and brought Natsu with him on most but not all. So whenever Natsu couldn't come with him, Igneel left Natsu to be taken care of by a friend of his named Atlas. This now meaning that, therefore, _at first _it didn't seem like much when Igneel announced that he was going on a business trip to Edolas when Natsu was 7. In fact, the only strange thing reported was that Igneel seemed to be acting twitchy and paranoid all the while up until he was left.

Igneel had only been gone for 3 days before Natsu got the call at around 2 am. Atlas had returned the little pinkette to his own home and had said that he would be back to pick him up in the morning for school. He'd listed off a bunch of rules to Natsu who took it all in while already half-asleep. When he was done lecturing the pinkette, Atlas put him to sleep and quickly left. A few hours later, Natsu was awoken by the sound of the phone ringing. At first, he had tried to ignore it, but when it wouldn't stop, he finally got up, marched to the phone, picked it up and proceeded to screech at the top of his lungs at whoever the hell was on the other side of the phone that it was past midnight.

"Heh, is that how you greet your father Natsu?" Igneel said once Natsu stopped yelling. His voice was obviously trying to fake a playful and calm tone but you could clearly hear how frantic, edgy and panicked he was. "I could've sworn I taught you better."

Natsu instantly sobered up. "Dad?" he questioned, his tone one of surprise. "Why are you calling so late? And how's the trip so far? Did you get me anything yet? I miss you- when are coming back? Can I come ne-"

He was cut off by Igneel's laugh. It sounded close to hysterical. "Natsu," he said, tone serious yet gentle, "I need you to listen very closely to what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

Natsu nodded before remembering that his dad couldn't see him. "Okay."

"Good," he sounded painfully relieved before returning to serious, "Now, I'm not sure when I'll be back anymore but, no matter what, I want you to _stay_ where you are okay? No matter who tells you to come with them or anything, even if it's the police, I want you to continue staying in our home okay?" he waited until Natsu said okay again before continuing. Just as he was about to say something else, there was a crash and a few banging sounds from his end. A few unfamiliar voices started yelling muffled things and Igneel cursed quite fluently. That worried Natsu more than he already was from all that his dad was saying- tone and words. Igneel _never_ cursed in front of him. Or at least he tried not to most of the times. Whenever he did he always apologized immediately after, even when Natsu said he didn't mind. Natsu patiently waited for the usual 'Sorry Natsu' but, instead, all he heard were the sounds the shuffling and movement before he heard his dad's voice again. It didn't even sound like he was trying to hold back the panic and frantic tone from his tone anymore as spoke. "Just please promise me you'll wait for me in our house no matter how long it takes for me to come home- I promise I'll be back some day."

"Dad," Natsu sounded so scared as he spoke, eyes filling with tears, "Dad you're scaring me- what's going on? What happened? Are you okay? What do you mean wait for you? Aren't you going to be coming home soon? Dad I-"

"Natsu," his father's voice was hard but pleading, "Promise me."

"I…" the seven year old swallowed hard, "I promise dad."

"Good." his father sounded so relieved that you could tell easily he was smiling. The noises on the other end were louder now and a lot closer. Igneel cursed again. "I have to go now Natsu but don't forget our promise okay?"

"Dad what's going on?" On the other side of the phone, Natsu could clearly hear the sound of a door breaking as strange people continued yelling things Natsu didn't understand. His father cursed more. "Dad?!"

"I love you son," he said firmly, tone gentle and completely calm, "More than anything and I want you to remember that always." That was the last Natsu heard of his father before the sound of the door on the other end giving way filled his ears. And then the line was cut.

Natsu spent hours screaming for his dad on the phone and trying to call back but nothing worked. He spent the rest of the night sobbing in confused and worried panic for his father.

The next morning Atlas came and found Natsu curled on the couch thrashing around in nightmarish sleep, tears running down his face. A few hours later the police came to report Igneel Dragneel's disappearance. Natsu had thrown a tantrum the size of Jupiter and completely ignored and denied everything the policemen said. When they had tried to take him with them he had screamed bloody murder before locking himself in his room. He had stayed in there for the entire rest of the day despite everyone's attempt's to get him out. He stayed in there for the entire day after that too. And the one after that as well. In fact, he stayed locked up in there for 4 days straight. He would've stayed longer if Atlas hadn't finally had enough and, quite literally, kicked his door in. Apparently he had found Natsu unconscious, bloody and pale, curled up into a ball in the middle of his room. The room was a mess with everything completely destroyed- walls, floor, windows and all. The only thing that seemed intact was a white scarf Igneel had given Natsu for his seventh birthday.

After that, Natsu was in the hospital for 3 days. When he was released, he announced that he would be taking care of himself until his father returned. There were instant protests and denials- he _was_ only seven after all. But Natsu was stubborn and he would have his way in this matter come hell or high water. Atlas backing him up helped too. He wouldn't adopt him per say, but he would make sure that Natsu didn't accidentally kill himself. A few weeks later, Natsu was adjusting just fine. Mira, excellent friend and cook she was, would feed him from time to time, Atlas, who had decide to travel around in search of Igneel, would send money every now and then to pay for things and come back during major holidays and every day when he got home, Natsu would stay by the door or phone, patiently waiting for his dad's return. Eventually a month passed and Natsu was still living by himself. Then another month passed and nothing. Soon enough a year had passed and Natsu didn't wait as patiently by the phone or door anymore. The next year and Natsu wasn't waiting by them at all. Before he even knew it, Natsu was 17 and he was still living alone. But he never gave in to temptation. He would honor his promise to his dad and wait in that house for him every day for the rest of his life if necessary. No matter what he would not go with the policemen to any 'nice new homes' whenever they came to give progress reports. This _was_ his home. He was just waiting for his dad to come home.

Waiting… Always waiting…

* * *

By the time Natsu was done, they had burned through Ed Sheeran's _The A Team_, All Time Low's _Weightless_, The Band Perry's _If I Die Young_, Linkin Park's _Iridescent_ and Shinedown's _Diamond Eyes_. They were now listening to Simple Plan's _Loser of the Year_. Natsu's voice was calm and even throughout the entire story but, and perhaps it was just the fact that he was currently listening Pierre Bouvier sing about how he was nothing without someone even with all he had, but Gray thought that Natsu wasn't very happy remembering all this.

They stayed quiet for a long time as Gray tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided to slip his arm under Natsu so it was wrapped around his waist before pulling him close. Oh, but he wasn't done yet.

The older of the two took a deep breath before clearing his throat. "When I was really young," he started, "My mom died. I can't really remember what _exactly_ happened but I think that she was…trying to protect me. Someone had broken into our house and they had a gun. It was just me, my big brother and older sister so it was kinda hard but we learned to love it. When I was 12 Ultear, my big sister, went out into the world and left me and Lyon, my big brother, by ourselves. She called and sent money and all that so it wasn't that bad though. She died 4 years ago though. After that, Lyon left to go out into the world too. Ever since then, Loke and I have been sharing an apartment and Lyon sends money every few weeks."

When he was done talking, the silence reigned once again. Both males weren't really sure what to do now. They'd both just told each other their life stories- what exactly do you _do_ after doing such things? The only you can do they guess. So, Gray just held on tighter to Natsu and pulled him closer as Natsu snuggled himself deeper into Gray, both finding more comfort than they ever imagined in each other's warmth.

* * *

**Well damn, I'm just throwing all of it at ya aren't I? AHAHAHAHA- no, I'm actually not. You think **_**this**_** was dramatic? Just wait until you see what else I have planned! INSERTS MANICAL LAUGHTER HERE! (Sorry but I'm sick and sneezing and hacking so just let me have this…)**


	6. Yeah Like a date

**First off, Happy New Year and Merry Belated Christmas since I forgot to say it in the last chapter. Second, school's gonna be back soon and I was moved to Canada from Jamaica so it'll take a while to adjust and chapter might take a while. (Not to mention all the other things to do but I doubt any of you give a damn about _my_ problems...). Sorry for that. Third, enjoy.**

* * *

It was around 11:17 when Gray was finally about to leave Natsu's. They had spent a bit over an hour just lying on Natsu's bed and listening to music before the got up and decided to try and make food since the pinkette's stomach was making a lot of noise. After about 30 minutes of burning shit, they finally decided to settle on sharing a few microwavable ramen. When they were finally done with that, Happy appeared out of nowhere with a half-eaten fish and asked whether or not Gray was staying the night since it was so late. That's when Gray decided to head out. Natsu was a bit more reluctant.

"You're sure that you're gonna be fine walking by yourself?" Natsu asked again for what felt like the 20th time.

Gray just rolled his eyes again. "Yes Natsu," he said, endearing annoyance lacing his tone, "I'm sure. I can take of myself ya know."

Tanned hands raised in a gesture of mock surrender as a falsely innocent smile tugged at the pinkette's lips. "Just checking."

Gray huffed indignantly before muttering a few unkind things under his breath. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder before stepping out of the warm house and into the cold night air. They were in October now so it should start snowing soon. Gray couldn't help but wonder when though. Winter was his favorite holiday and he never really was good at waiting for it to roll around. He especially hated waiting for the first snows of the season. Winter, after all, wasn't winter without snow.

The dark haired male's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft growl beside him. Turning, he saw Natsu shivering beside him. One eyebrow rose curiously at the sight. "Not one for the cold?" he asked.

Natsu glanced over at him before glaring up at the darkened sky. He huffed in clear irritation before speaking. "I can handle it but I prefer Summer. Snow's nice and all but honestly, you can freeze to death out here."

Gray chuckled a bit at that. "Just wait until we get closer to Christmas." He said. "The temperature will drop a bit more and the snow will start to fall." He nudged the pinkette playfully before stating, "_Then_ we'll freeze to death out here."

The pinkette huffed again as he turned his head away a bit, cheeks now a light pink colour. Gray couldn't help but wonder if it was really from the cold. "Off with you now." Natsu said as turned fully to go back inside. "Don't freeze up on my porch."

Gray chuckled again at that. He looked at the path down the hill before glancing at the retreating pinkette. He made a split second decision as he reached a hand out and grabbed Natsu's wrist. Said male jumped a bit before turning curious eyes at Gray, head tilted ever so slightly. Gray swallowed hard and found that both his mouth and throat were suddenly very dry. "Um…" he started intelligently, cheeks reddening a bit as cleared his throat. "Would you like to, perhaps, go out with me Saturday?"

Natsu stared at him for a painfully long moment as Gray's heart pounded in his ears. _Idiot!_ He cursed at himself, _Three weeks of worrying about the right moment and then you do this?! Now he's gonna say no! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!_

His inner turmoil almost made him miss what Natsu said.

"You mean…like a d-date?"

He looked up at the now red face and saw that moss green orbs were locked onto the ground. He smiled a little at that. "Yeah," he murmured, "Like a date."

He saw a small smile form on tanned lips as Natsu nodded. "I'd like that." Was all he said.

A similar smile was on Gray's face he as leaned forward. "I'd like that too…" he whispered into the pinkette's ear. He enjoyed watching the shiver run down Natsu's spine when he did that. He pulled away and let go of Natsu's wrist. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Natsu glanced at him before quickly returning his gaze to the ground. He nodded slowly. Just when Gray was about to leave, Natsu quickly darted forward and wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thanks for listening."

And then he was gone and Gray was staring at the now closed front door. He stood there like an idiot for a long time before finally turning and starting off towards home, a foolish smile on his face.

The smile was still there when he got home around 11:48 too. He pushed the door closed behind him before leaning on it for a bit. He could still feel Natsu's warm body against his. It was such a blissful feeling. In fact, Gray was so caught up in his bliss that he didn't see the pillow flying towards him until it was too late. He stumbled as far back as he could while a startled noise left his lips. He slid down the door so he was sitting on the floor before carefully removing the pillow and peering up at the attacker.

Loke. Of course.

He glared at the blank faced male standing in front of him. "The hell was that for?!" he yelled.

"For making me wait." Was the response.

"You didn't have to." He rebutted, tossing the pillow back at his roommate.

"Of course I did." The orange haired male said as he easily caught the pillow. "Who's to say that you don't come home all beaten and bloody? It's really late ya know."

Gray just rolled his eyes. "Why does no one think I can handle myself?" he grumbled as he stood back up.

"Oh we know you can handle yourself," Loke stated, "Hell we've _seen_ you handle yourself, but that doesn't mean that we can't worry."

Gray just rolled his eyes again as he made his way to his room. "So," he heard Loke start, "Find out why he's worrying about bills instead of his parents?" When Gray nodded he made a humming sound. "Gonna share?"

Gray shook his head at that. "Not my tale to share."

Loke nodded as pushed his glasses back up. "Should we ask him or Mira and others?" he questioned. Gray just shrugged. "I don't think he'll want to tell it again…" he mumbled to himself but loud enough for Loke to still hear. "Maybe you should ask Mira. Or maybe I'll ask him if he minds me telling you." Loke just hummed again as Gray dumped his bag on the floor and made his way over to his bed, softly petting Muff's sleeping head as he sat down.

The orange haired male leaned casually on the door frame before asking, "So you two doing it yet?"

Gray made a strangled sound as his head snapped up towards his best friend, face now very red. "W-what?!" he stammered. "W-why would you even- what would m-make think that we we're-_what_?!"

Loke just shrugged as if they were talking about the weather. "You're home really late, you were in a pretty happy daze a while ago with a stupid grin on your face and you're getting all flustered and stuff over this, what do you expect me to think?"

"I don't know!" Gray shouted, indirectly waking Muff, "But it sure as hell isn't supposed to be that! We haven't even gone on a date yet!"

"I'm pretty sure that that's not something you should advertise."

"S-shut up!"

"So much yelling Gray. Don't you have any consideration for our neighbors?"

"I said shut up!"

"Anyways," Loke said, completely ignoring Gray, "When exactly _are_ you going to ask him out?"

Gray huffed in annoyance, watching as Muff curled up against his thigh. "For your information," he spat, "We're going out this Saturday."

Loke stared hard at him for a moment. Then he walked up to him and slapped him across the face.

Gray tentively touched his hand to his cheek, a shocked look on his features. He slowly turned his head back to his friend. His friend who was looking at him with a pissed off expression. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!" he yelled. Gray just continued to stare at him. "Hours and days of not just me but _also_ Lucy, Erza, Jellal and Levy trying to train you in the art of romance and it all just goes to hell?!" He was pacing back and forth now, voice steadily raising with each word. Gray just continued to stare. "I mean, I knew you _sucked_ at love but I didn't know you were _this_ bad!" He was full on screeching now. "Honestly Gray, how the _hell_ do you expect to be acknowledged as the seme in your relationship if _he_ has to ask _you_ out?! Or is it that you don't want to be seme at all? That it isn't it?!" he abruptly halted mid-step to turn an accusatory finger on Gray. "You've been fooling me all this time haven't you? You're really an uke under all that seme like tsundere aren't you?! That's it isn't it?!" He was breathing heavily as he looked expectantly at Gray for a response.

Gray stared at him a bit longer before slowing standing up, making sure not disturb Muff in the process. When he was standing, he walked up to Loke and, making sure to put more than enough force into it, slapped him. The orange haired male stumbled back a bit and, with a hand to his cheek, shot Gray an alarmed look. Said male paid no mind to it as he pushed his friend to the door. When he was out and Gray had the door in hand, he looked dead into his friend's still alarmed expression, face complete blank. "First off," he said, "That 'training' is more torture than anything. Also, while it has not completely 'gone to hell', it's still not helping much. Second, I don't 'suck' at love, it's more like 'pass/fail/float on by' kind of scenario. Third, I _am_ the seme in the relationship, and fourth- I asked _him_ out!" And with that, he slammed the door in Loke's face.

There was a long stretch of quiet as Gray walked over to his dresser. Just as he pulled out his pajamas, he heard Loke's slightly muffled voice through the door. "The training is awesome and valuable so shut up and man up over it, you _do_ suck at love, you _better_ make sure you're the seme since we're training you for it and it's good that you finally grew a pair. Also, you won't be going over to Natsu's tomorrow since we'll be some doing extra training and preparations. I'm gonna text everyone now so goodnight."

Gray listened to the sound of retreating steps for a moment before sighing. Tomorrow would be hell.

* * *

**I'm really fond of the whole idea of Loke being that one maudlin friend that annoys the shit out of you but is still there for you when worst comes to worst.**


	7. Hay is for horses

**I have terrible fashion sense so if what they're wearing doesn't sit right with you then be my guest to change it.**

* * *

Friday was hell? Ha! Hardly. In fact, it was more along the lines of the calm before the storm. I mean, don't get Gray wrong, Friday was still horribly awful. If not for the fact that he had tests to do most of the day then because of what happened _after_ school. The moment the bell rang to signal the beginning of the weekend, Gray was being dragged out the front doors by Loke and Erza with Jellal, Lucy, Levy and reluctant looking Gajeel tailing.

They all had spent hours lecturing him on 'what to do's', 'how to do's', 'what not to do's' and, of course, 'when to do's'. They also forcefully tried to bathe him, feed him and dress him in preparation for the date or, as they call it, 'The Big Day'. Long story short, Gray was now plotting all their demises. In fact, they had spent so long lecturing (torturing) him that he woke up late and barely had an hour to come up with an idea for where to go on the date, get dressed and pick up Natsu.

He just counts himself lucky that Loke, the tricky bastard, had the foresight to pick out an outfit for him beforehand. Of course this only meant that Gray had to take him off of the Death Threat list- _for now_. So, Gray just grumbled something about stupid roommates as he hurriedly got dressed in dark grey jeans, a dark purple T-shirt, a black hoodie and black high tops. He grabbed all the essentials- keys, wallet, condoms, gum, ph-

Wait.

What?

Gray stared quite blankly at what he held in his hand for a moment. When it finally clicked, he let out a rather undignified sound before screeching Loke's name at the top of his lungs. The orange haired male came out of his room with a phone pressed to his ears and an annoyed expression on his face. "What?" he grunted out while adjusting his glasses on his face.

Gray held up the item before his face. "What," he hissed, "Is this?"

Loke blinked before giving his roommate a rather bewildered look. "Gray," he started slowly, "I know you're pretty new to the relationship thing but, _surely_, you must at _least_ know what a c-"

"I know what it is!" he shouted, hands flying up in frustration, "I _want_ to know why you had so sneakily placed it amongst my things!"

"Well," Loke started, shifting his phone to other ear- Gray could already imagine a slightly flustered and confused Lucy on the other end listening in. "I was concerned about whether or not you and Natsu would be safe and protected. Health class should've informed you about how important it is too Gray. Maybe you should pay more attention in class- it might come in handy!"

Gray stared at him for a long time in a disbelieving sense before turning on ball of his foot and marching towards the door. "Where ya going?" he heard Loke call after him. "I have a date." He grunted back.

"Okay. Don't forget all you've been taught!" Gray snorted at that. '_If only…_' he thought.

"…And don't forget to use that protection properly!" And that's when Gray promptly threw the condom back in Loke's face. '_He is _so_ back on the list!_''

* * *

Gray hesitated in front of Natsu's door for a long time. He considered running for most of it. What if Natsu forgot? What if he had come too late and it was all over? What if the clock was wrong and he was too _early_? What if-

All the clichéd case scenarios ran through Gray's mind and caused him take back everything he ever said or thought about anyone having cold feet about a crush or date or whatever. This was pretty nerve-wracking. So, taking a deep breath, Gray raised his ever hesitant hand to door and paused. For a _really_ long time.

"Are you ever going to knock?"

Another undignified sound tumbled from Gray's lips for the second time that day as he spun around and looked around wildly. When his gaze finally darted downwards he found himself staring into the bemused eyes of Happy the talking blue cat. A sigh was released as the young adult physically slumped, hand coming up to clutch at the area over his frantic heart. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard the door slam open behind him. He froze for a moment before finally glancing over his shoulder.

Yup. There stood Natsu with a rather concerned look on his face which quickly morphed into one of surprise then discomfort/embarrassment. He was wearing black jeans with a deep red T-shirt, orange hoodie, red converse and, of course, his white scarf.

"Uh," the pinkette started intelligently after a rather long pause, "Hi?"

Gray raised his hand slightly in a form of acknowledgment. Then suddenly the door slammed right back shut behind Natsu. The pinkette let out a yelping sound, stumbling forward a bit, before spinning around and rattling the door knob which, for the record, seemed to be locked. Behind the heavy wood they could both hear a rather mischievous snicker.

"Happy!" he yelled, still banging on the door, "Open the door!" The _door_ didn't open, but the window sure did. The _upstairs_ window. And out flew Natsu's keys, phone and wallet- the phone landing rather harshly on Natsu's head. The pinkette cried out before stumbling back and falling to the ground. Then out popped Happy's head stating that Natsu should be back 'before the fish supply ran out', and then he promptly slammed the window shut. And Gray just stood there and watched it all like a fool. And as he stared at Natsu laying on the ground and rubbing his head a bit, the dark haired male couldn't help but hear Lucy's voice in his head telling him how utterly _romantic_ it is to catch your 'lover' when they're about to fall or are falling. '_Whelp,_' he thought rather dryly, '_So much for _that_ teaching._'

Then he figured he was probably being rude just standing there and staring so he cleared his throat rather awkwardly and offered Natsu his hand, eyes slightly averted. Wordlessly, Natsu took the offered appendage and let Gray help him up. As he brushed himself off, he muttered a silent 'Thank you' and Gray simply nodded in acknowledgement. Looking around, Natsu quickly grabbed his fallen things before returning to Gray, a broad grin on his face. "Hi."

"Hey."

"Hay is for horses."

Gray couldn't help but roll his eyes at that as the corners of his lips tugged upwards. "That line is over-used and stupid."

Natsu, being _oh so_ mature, promptly stuck out his tongue at that, grin never once faltering. Soon, they were both making their way down the path from Natsu's house. "So, anything planned?"

Gray blinked and looked over at Natsu curiously for a moment. Then he remembered what he forgot. _He had no plan for this date_.

Well fuck then.

"Uh, um…well you see I kinda, perhaps, f-"

"Forgot?"

Gray winced slightly at that, hands raised in an act of peace. "In my defense," he said, "I was busy trying to ward of bunch of sociopaths."

A light hearted laugh spilled from Natsu's mouth as he waved Gray's worries off. "It's alright." He said, "Just because you asked _me_ doesn't mean you have to come up with everything."

"That's not what Erza and Loke kept saying."

Natsu playfully bumped his shoulder against Gray's, grin softening into a gentle smile. "Well Erza and Loke aren't here and I won't tell them if you don't."

Gray returned the smile as he bumped shoulders with Natsu again. "You're awesome, ya know that right?"

The pinkette's broad grin returned as he flung his arm over Gray's shoulders. "Of course I am!"

And when they both laughed, Gray couldn't help but think of how nice they sounded together.

* * *

**How I ended this chapter makes me feel so full of shit right now...**


	8. That could just be a typo

**Imma bitch a little okay? ****Okay.**

**_I can't take it_! Writing to me was a hobby and a love and now it feels like an obligation and a must- like I _have to_ do it! I loved writing because it was my _escape! _Same with reading! Now I just... it feels so forced and I just... I just can not man. My friend advised me to write a personal story that gives me a happy ending that I know I'll never get but... I just... Ugh! It burns. Not to mention that with this story I feel like I'm either updating too early or too late and the struggles burneth I and I's soulz and I just canz notz manzzzz! I'm quite aware none of you give a flying piece of poo about me or this but, eh, I felt like bitching. I blame the perpetual state of depression I seem to be. DAMN YOU EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! (Which, by the way, I have been dealing with since I was fucking _FIVE_!).**

**Well, I'm done. Sorry for holding you up though I highly doubt anyone _actually_ read this. ON TO THE STORY!**

* * *

After about half an hour of wandering aimlessly, Gray and Natsu decided that they should just let their natural teenage instincts lead them to the nearest mall. Upon arriving 5 minutes later, Natsu promptly dragged Gray to a movie theater that was located somewhere near the back of mall. They got there just in time to snag the last tickets to see _Lion King_. Natsu made him buy a large popcorn, nachos, 2 hot dogs, half of the candy they had and the biggest soda he had ever seen and when they got into the _actual_ theater it was crowded and they ended up sitting in between two different families who _obviously_ didn't seem particularly pleased whenever the two boys- Natsu- started singing along with some of the songs (well, except for that _one_ little dark haired girl who grinned knowingly at them before singing along) and half way through one of those worker people came and told them that they should quiet down but they didn't so they ended up being escorted out and Natsu kept complaining that they deserved a refund and right before the left, they both screamed out that Mufasa and Scar dies in the end and that Timon and Pumbaa were _obviously_ in some sort of inter-species relationship before running like hell. But Natsu held his hand through it all so Gray was just fine with it all.

After they finally lost the very pissed off looking movie person, Gray and Natsu decided to get pizza because, even though Natsu ate all the food they got at the movie theater, 'running from pissed off people and ruining kids' childhoods builds up an appetite'. Gray had just laughed and walked to the nearest pizzeria. And after polishing off 2 Meat Lovers stuffed crust- and cleaning out both their wallets by quite a bit since Gray outright refused to go broke alone- the two boys returned to their aimless wandering, being mindful to stay away from the movie theater area. After about 30 minutes of nothing, they finally stopped by a man selling balloon animals and weapons.

After about 15 minutes of persuasion on Natsu's part, Gray bought them both a balloon sword. And as the man made a blue and red sword for Gray and Natsu respectively, he shot them a strange look, most likely wondering what near fully grown adults would want with balloon swords. It was a reasonable question.

After that, Gray and Natsu somehow got into an epic fight with their balloon swords as their only weapons. It had probably started when Natsu decided that they should have a clichéd moment in the photo booth and they had started 'playfully' whacking each other. Either way, they ended up running all over the place and only took breaks when they hopped into an elevator because they got too tired and lazy to actually take the stairs. About half an hour later, a security guard came out of nowhere and warned them to stop. And they did. For 2 minutes that is. After about 15 minutes of resuming their battle, the same guard came back and _told_ them to stop, although they had probably gone too far into the mall because the movie theater person from earlier came back out of nowhere too and started screeching about disgraceful ruffians. Panicking slightly, Gray and Natsu had started beating them both with the balloon swords until they were all having an _actual_ fight with the security guard trying to call for back up. Long story short, Gray and Natsu had ended up running for 6 blocks straight until they collapsed in some alley laughing and panting and really really pumped with adrenaline.

But Natsu had held his hand through it all so Gray was _perfectly_ fine with it all.

* * *

"So we can never go back there huh?"

The boys had finally caught their breath and were now sitting side by side against a not so clean looking wall as the stared up into the purpling sky.

An amused smirk formed on the dark hired male's lips as a small laugh passed through his slightly chapped lips. "Guess not."

Natsu made a humming noise in the back of his throat. "Mira and girls like to go there to shop and they bring me along a lot." The pinkette turned his head to return Gray's smirk full on, "You have just given me a good excuse not to go next time. Thanks."

Another laugh passed through the elder's lips as his shoulders shook slightly. "No problem." Natsu's smirk morphed into a soft grin as he breathed a tired sigh and leaned his head against Gray's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while before Gray finally spoke up. "Want some ice-cream?"

Natsu head snapped up to stare at him incredulously, eyes as wide as saucers.

"What?"

"You're kidding right?"

Gray frowned a bit at that, head tilted ever so slightly. "Why would I be kidding?"

"It's the middle of _October_! We'll freeze!"

Gray waved off Natsu's dramatics as he pulled them both to their feet. "We'll be fine." He said. "Besides, I've gotten you what you want all day and I want ice-cream now. Besides, if I remember correctly, and I do, you said that running from pissed off people builds up an appetite."

Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "Erza and Loke wouldn't agree." He tried.

Gray grinned at that. "You can't use that." He said. When Natsu pouted more he cleared his throat in an overly exaggerated manner before speaking, "In the previous chapter it was stated that, and I quote, 'Natsu playfully bumped his shoulder against Gray's, grin softening into a gentle smile. "Well Erza and Loke aren't here and I won't tell them if you won't."'. And unless you no longer value my existence, I don't think you'll be telling them, hm?"

The younger of the two let out a rather annoyed sound. "No fair." He grumbled. "The author checks over like, ten times before posting and still makes mistakes often- that could just be a typo."

The dark haired male raised a disbelieving eyebrow and gave Natsu a rather blank stare. He didn't stop until the pinkette finally sighed in defeat. "Well," he said, "Leaving the fourth wall somewhat intact for now, let's go get some ice-cream."

Another sigh escaped the pinkette as he let Gray drag him off somewhere. Finally, and unbelievably, they came across an open ice-cream store. When they walked in, the guy seemed to pretty surprised to be seeing customers when it was so cold. Of course it was only when his eyes widen further and his expression became even more lost did either of them realize that they were still wielding their balloon weaponry.

"What?" Natsu asked a bit gruffly (but only because he was trying not to laugh), "Never seen grown men wielding weapons of mass destruction before?"

Gray pressed his lips into a thin line although Natsu could see the corners of his lips twitching up every now and then. The guy at the counter just opened and closed his mouth a few times before clearing his throat in an uncomfortable manner. "Can I take your order?"

"Can I get a double scope in the cup? Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookie Dough with whip cream and rainbow sprinkles."

The man nodded as he started working on the order. Gray then turned to Natsu with an expectant look.

"Yes?" Natsu asked when he saw the look.

"What do you want?"

Natsu just sighed before saying, "Double scope in the cup, Cookies' n' Cream and Cookie Dough. Whip cream, rainbow sprinkles and caramel sauce."

Gray nodded but the smile that was tugging at his lips earlier was in full bloom now. Turning back to the server/cashier, he repeated the order and soon, they were out and off. They walked as they ate and chatted about random things. Soon, their ice-cream was done and Natsu was shivering. "You cold?" Gray asked as the pinkette tried to huddle into himself.

"O-of course n-not!"

"Mhm…" Gray suddenly felt bad about making Natsu eat ice-cream when he obviously wasn't good with cold weather. He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day as the 'teachings' of yesterday came back to him. '_Yeah, yeah, yeah,_' he thought, '_I'm on it so shut up._'

Hesitantly, Gray raised his arm before wrapping it around Natsu's torso and bringing him close. The pinkette looked up at him bewilderment but made no move to pull away- Gray was grateful for that. They continued walking while making the occasional small talk as they gradually made their way back to Natsu's. When they finally reached, they decided that the date shouldn't end _just_ yet and the two stayed in the living room drinking hot cocoa, talking and occasionally paying attention to whatever was on TV. It wasn't really until 11:17 rolled around did they decided to call it a wrap.

"So," Natsu started as he leaned back against the wall beside the door, "The dreaded 11:17 returns."

"Indeed." Gray stared at Natsu for a moment before grinning. "This was fun." He said as he shrugged back on his discarded hoodie.

The pinkette nodded in agreement. "It really was; we should do it again."

"Yes, we really should, shouldn't we?"

"Indeed. Tomorrow good for you?"

"Only if it's good for you."

"Always."

"Then it's a date."

They stood there grinning at each other for a moment before they both suddenly remembered that it was late and Gray didn't live there. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Natsu asked as Gray stepped outside.

A smile tugged at the corners of Gray's mouth as he leaned down and brushed his lips ever so lightly against Natsu's cheek. "Of course." He breathed before pulling back, cheeks slightly pink.

Natsu just stood there grinning like an idiot as he watched Gray walk down the hill. And as he started getting ready for bed, outside his window it started to snow.

* * *

**Whelp, how'd you like the date? I actually got the idea from a memory. My friend and I were trying to see a movie but we were too young and we didn't want leave just yet so we idled around. I spent $500 JA on balloon weapons including 2 swords and a bow and arrow. We nearly got kicked out too when the mall cop told us to stop playing on the elevator. It was amazing. I miss her… *clears throat* ANYWAYS! Tell me what you think. TILL NEXT TIME MY PRECIOUS HELLSPAWN!**


End file.
